Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Wednesday questioned the motives behind a new lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at forcing the state to turn over voter registration data for every resident.

At least 27 states are fighting similar requests, but only Maine and Oregon have been sued by the DOJ.

The DOJ lawsuit filed in federal district court says the months-long effort to obtain driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers, political party affiliation and voting frequency is part of a larger effort to ensure the state is properly maintaining voter rolls.

“States simply cannot pick and choose which federal laws they will comply with, including our voting laws, which ensure that all American citizens have equal access to the ballot in federal elections,

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